


Nous Academy

by trysomecats



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, School, Teenagers, oy - Freeform, powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trysomecats/pseuds/trysomecats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan’s family has been hiding his secret for fifteen years, but finally the government finds out and sends him to a school with others who are similar. (Phan Superpower AU!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nous Academy

The building was surrounded by moss covered stone walls and a large steel gate. There was a beautiful fountain that looked a bit newer than the rest of the property in the front. The building itself was several stories high, made of strong granite. It looked like something from a story book of sorts, probably having been built hundreds of years ago.

Dan hated it.

The gates opened and the car he was sitting in back of drove slowly through, staying on the stone path that led towards the place. Dan twisted his fingers together nervously, fighting the instinct to flee from the car and get as far away as he could. That would be impossible of course. Starting today he was basically a prisoner, all because of something that he had no control over.

You see, Dan was special. Out of the world’s entire population, only around 2% of the world were born with certain powers. As incredible as it was to have been “gifted” with such powers, the general public and government feared these individuals. That was why if they were discovered, they were sent away to special schools to help them “control” their powers. Oh, and it was often involuntarily.

Dan and his family had done so good with hiding his secret. For fifteen whole years they had managed to keep it under the government radar. If he was honest, Dan would say that he already had pretty much complete control over his power. Only his power was one that people would likely judge him for, and not trust him. But it turned out that people had sensed something was off about him, and then the government had become involved. He pictured his mother’s tear stained face that he had seen only hours ago as he was collected and forced from his home.

Nous Academy was the name of this school in particular. People who had powers having to do with the mind were sent here. Dan shuddered to think what sort of powers the “students” would have here.

A short woman with large spectacles and ruffled skirts was standing at the bottom of the building’s steps. The car door was suddenly opening, and Dan had no choice but to climb out of the vehicle.

“Daniel Howell,” The woman spoke slowly, studying him intensly. “I am the Headmistress of Nous. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance; I think you’ll shine wonderfully here.”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Dan stared back at her with his best poker expression. He would let his dissatisfaction be known. How dare these people drag him away from his life for something he could not help. As if he was humoring her, the Headmistress smiled gently.

“Come inside Daniel, and see your new home.”

The building looked much more…newer than it did on the inside. The walls were painted such a perfect white, with no traces of smudge marks whatsoever. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the main entrance, and beautiful red curtains draped down from spotlessly clear windows.

Dan was led down a long hallway. The entire time he examined all doors and possible escape routes. He would play their game for now, and take off as soon as night arrived. The hallway led to a small lounge with a couch and two chairs. Thankfully it was not occupied by any other people.

The Headmistress closed the door behind them. “Right then, have a seat.”

Dan considered refusing, but he didn’t want to seem like a petulant child. He sank into one of the armchairs, watching cautiously as the older woman sat on the couch.

“Of course you are feeling angry and confused, it is only natural. You will soon find this school to be a comforting and knowledgeable environment. But there are rules of course.”

Dan still didn’t look at her.

“You may not use your powers on other people unless you have their permission or you are in a controlled classroom setting. You will have classes that pertain to basic education as well as how to control your powers. Although each student is a little different, all of you here have a power that comes from within the mind.”

A wave of emotion suddenly came over the brown eyed teenager. It was terrible, having complete strangers know what he was capable of doing. Before he could start to cry or listen to more of this lady’s drabble, a light knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” The Headmistress said, and Dan looked up. The door creaked open and a boy who looked around Dan’s age entered. He had dark black hair and intense blue eyes that shone brightly even from across the room. “Ah, welcome Philip, you’re right on time.”

The boy, Philip, met Dan’s eyes. Dan looked away quickly, instantly feeling cautious. Who knew what sort of power this boy had.

“Daniel, this is Philip Lester, another student here. I am going to leave you in his hands now. He will show you around today and tomorrow. You can start as a normal student on Monday.”

Once the Headmistress was gone from the room, Dan felt some of the tension go. Philip, who was standing in the middle of the room still, smiled and waved at him awkwardly.

“Hi, I’m Phil,” He introduced himself personally with a small chuckle. “Nobody except Headmistress calls me Philip.”

This time Dan found the courage to look him straight in the eyes, wondering what sort of ability Phil had. As if reading his mind, the black haired boy grinned wider.

“I can pick up on most people’s thoughts…you could call me a mind reader I suppose.”

Shit, that explained things, and Dan felt a wave of panic.

Phil’s eyes widened comically. “Not that I’d ever abuse my power! I mean, I can only hear things if I want to. I’m not nosy, I swear.”

Finally speaking his first words since arriving, Dan muttered, “Right…”

Phil tapped his fingers against his leg. “Er…you’ll like it here, I promise. It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new students. Mind powers are super rare. What’s yours?”

“None of your business,” Dan said, both annoyed and relieved. It was good that only the Headmistress seemed to know what his powers were.

Dan’s moody aroma didn’t seem to waver Phil. “Well how about I show you around? It’s really cool here. We’ve got a library, a computer lab, several lounges, the kitchens. Oh, and your bedroom of course. And the others are really excited to meet you!”

Deciding to humor this annoying bloke for now, Dan gave a dramatic sigh and arose from the chair. Screw trying to act mature. Phil just continued to grin, holding an arm out as in indication to follow him back out into the hallway. Dan made sure to stay behind Phil rather than beside him, and kept thinking of all the annoying songs he could, in case Phil was lying and actually reading his mind.

While they walked, Phil babbled.

“I don’t know how you’ve managed to stay away so long. I’ve been here since I was five. I used to have no control over what sort of thoughts I heard. I was practically driven mad by all the voices. It didn’t take long for everybody to put two and two together. But then they taught me how to block out the voices. Thank god for that.”

Dan actually found himself a bit interested. The way Phil talked about it gained his attention. Constantly hearing voices must have been an awful thing, especially for a young child. And then being forced to live here…

“What happened to your family?” Dan found himself asking, for the first time sounding not so aggressive.

“Oh, I see them often. I’m an advanced student, so I can stay with them for the holidays and such. Before that they came to visit me. Your parents will be able to see you once a month if you’re good.”

‘If you’re good’…It made Dan sound like some baby. He felt himself grow irritated again.

“So here’s the dining hall. The kitchens are just the next door over, see…” Phil explained each room and location to Dan on the first floor. They were starting to go up the stairs when they ran into a pair of two more boys. Once was curly haired with greenish eyes, while the other had light brown hair and mischievous hazel eyes.

“Hey guys!” Phil greeted them. “This is the new student, Dan.”

They both smiled politely, eyeing him curiously. Dan switched back to his poker face, not saying a word.

The curly hair boy held out his hand. “I’m PJ, and this is Chris. Welcome to Nous Academy.”

“Thanks,” Dan muttered, watching them both cautiously. Phil raised his eyebrow at both of the boys, and PJ slapped himself in the face.

“Of course, how rude of me. I have the power of mind illusions.”

Phil laughed. “It’s really cool, especially if you ask him to make it look like you’re in space!”

“I’m not as cool as that,” Chris added good naturedly. “But I can make things move with my mind. You know, telekinesis and all that. It’s useful when you’re lazy and don’t feel like moving.”  
Telekinesis did not sound like something that ‘wasn’t very cool’. But Dan had to admit, it was interesting knowing that he wasn’t the only one his age with a power of the mind. He briefly considered telling them his power now, but decided against it. Once someone knew what he was capable of, nobody ever looked at him the same.

“Well, I’m going to show Dan his room now. We’ll see you guys at dinner, yeah?”

“Okay,” PJ said, giving Dan a friendly smile again. “See you around Dan.”

It turned out that Dan’s room was pretty nice. A queen sized bed, a dresser full of clothes, and a bathroom connected to it. Unfortunately it was on the fourth floor, so escaping out the window would be a little difficult.

“So,” Phil said after a moment of slight awkwardness. “I um, know you aren’t really that excited about being here. But I’m happy we get to have you here. You seem like a nice person.”

“Thanks,” Dan told him, for the first time being sincere. “Er…is it alright if I lie down for awhile?”

“Of course,” Phil replied. “I forgot how exhausted you must be. I’ll come back to get you when dinner’s ready, okay?”

Dan bit his lip. “Actually, I think I’ll skip dinner tonight. I’m just super tired, and I think I’ll have an early bedtime.”

“Oh,” Phil was a little taken aback, and perhaps disappointed. “Well, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, sure.” Dan agreed, thinking to himself ‘I’ll hopefully be long gone by then.’

“Sleep well!” Phil closed the door. Dan breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down on the large bed. It actually was quite comfy. He would sleep for now, and make his escape in the middle of the night. Closing his eyes, he felt sleep overtake him.

When Dan opened his eyes, it was pitch black out. There was no clock to be found inside this room, but he expected that it was well around midnight. Seeing as he was already dressed and had no other belongings, he got to work straight away. He was in for a shock when he tried to twist the doorknob open though.

It wouldn’t budge.

Trying again, there was still no change. Those bastards had locked him in.

Dan scowled and kicked the door as hard as he could. “Damn it! You can’t keep me prisoner here! I HAD A LIFE!”

After slamming his body against the door a few more times, the teen finally slid down to sit against the wall, burying his face into his hands.

“Dan?” Phil knocked against the door early the next morning. There was no reply. Thinking that the newcomer was still sleeping, Phil smiled and turned the knob, opening the door up. Seeing that the bed was unoccupied, he furrowed his eyebrows.

“You bastard,” A quivering voice spoke. Phil turned his head to see Dan curled up in the corner of the room. “You fucking asshole.”

Phil panicked. “What did I do?”

Dan was giving him a very murderous glare. “You’re a dirty liar. You read my thoughts, that’s what you did!”

“What?” Phil blinked. “No I didn’t!”

“Then why else would my door be locked last night? You obviously heard my plan and told somebody. Don’t even bother trying to cover it up, I’m not an idiot.”

Phil’s mouth dropped open. “I swear I didn’t Dan! But I’m not surprised it was locked. I mean you clearly were brought here against your will, of course precautions were going to be made. I’m not a liar, I didn’t read your thoughts. It’s against the rules anyhow. I want to be your friend Dan, honest.”

“Oh really?” Dan raised an eyebrow. “If you want to be my friend, then help me get out of here.”

Phil paled a little. “Anything. I’ll do anything except that.”

“Then get the hell out!”

This was obviously going to difficult. Phil understood how this boy must be feeling. He probably missed his friends and family. But if he was taken here, then he was obviously special. He would be stuck here for awhile, but it was for the best.

“…Alright,” Phil finally sighed. “I’ll come get you for lunch then.”

“Don’t bother!” Dan snapped, but Phil had already left.

He spent the next few hours sulking, trying to ignore the grumbling in his stomach. To pass the time, he explored every inch of the room. There was nothing to help him escape, but he did finally decide to wash his face and change his clothes. He selected black skinny jeans and a greyish colored t-shirt.

Phil came back again at noontime and asked cheerfully, “Do you want to join me for lunch?”

“Nope,” Dan replied back, trying to sound as sassy as he could. Phil just shrugged and said he’d be back around dinner. As the time ticked by, Dan had to admit that he was going stir crazy from being in this room for so long, and not to mention his stomach kept growling loudly.

When the sun was beginning to go down, Phil returned. The black haired boy was expecting to be turned down again, but was in for a surprise when Dan stood ready by the door, eyes downcast as he studied the carpet.

“I’ll go to dinner,” He muttered.

Phil smiled. “Excellent! Come on, let’s go!”

With that, the black haired boy linked arms with Dan and led him out the door and towards the stairs. The dining hall was made up for several round tables, all set up with beautiful crystal dishes and glasses. The main dishes were in the middle of the tables, and the smell of roasted chicken and garlic mashed potatoes and gravy made the new boy’s mouth water.

Dan followed Phil over to a table where Chris and PJ were already sitting, however there were also two girls there as well.

“Hello again Dan,” PJ greeted him as Dan sat in between he and Phil. “We were beginning to think you would never leave your room.”

“It was either that or starve to death,” Dan said with a shrug, finding it sort of easy to talk to the curly haired student.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Phil introduced Dan to the girls, Louise and Zoe, who were best friends. Louise got along splendidly with Dan. He also found her powers intriguing.

“I can manipulate people’s dreams,” She told him, smiling rather secretly to herself. “Whether it’s to send someone a message, or just provide a person with a lovely dream. You could sort of compare it to PJ’s power I suppose, but it’s rather more complicated than that.”

“Be careful though,” Chris warned. “If you piss her off she’ll send you a wicked nightmare.”

Louise slapped his arm while everyone else laughed. Zoe, who was small and full of smiles, also explained herself to Dan.

“I can feel emotions,” She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s a bit stressful sometimes. I don’t like crowds very much…but my lessons are helping me.”

Dan came to the realization that perhaps he had misjudged the people here, or at least the students. After all, they were just like him, and it wasn’t as if they’d had a choice to come here either. Maybe he could learn some valuable knowledge from all of this.

He felt a pair of eyes watching him and looked over to Phil, who gave him a reassuring smile. It was a little hard to believe that Phil wasn’t reading his mind with those intense blue eyes.  
Dan was briefly introduced to a few other students on the way out of the dining hall, such as Alfie, Casper, Joe, and Hazel. He didn’t stick around long enough to learn their powers though, because Phil was dragging him from the room so he could show him around more.

“The fountain is beautiful at night, it’s surrounded by pretty lights. I spend a lot of time here at night. It helps clear my head, you know? And sometimes you can see bats flying around. I have a bat t-shirt, it’s probably my favorite thing to wear…”

Dan was surprisingly content as Phil talked about whatever came to his mind, taking a seat on the edge of the beautiful fountain. The other boy had been right, it was lovely with the surrounding lights reflecting from the water, and the gentle trickling of water was soothing.

“Well, it’s getting late. Curfew is at eleven, and tomorrow classes start.”

Dan wasn’t looking forward to classes. School was never something he had particularly enjoyed, even before he had been kidnapped and forced to go here.

Phil laid a hand on his arm. “Hey, it’s not so bad here. Class time is actually really interesting. Just give it a change, yeah?”

Sighing, Dan said, “Well, I suppose I don’t have any other choice.”

Phil had been right. Class time at Nous Academy was very interesting. When they came in, the professor, Mr. Fiducia, smiled straight at Dan and without saying a word said, ‘Good Morning Dan Howell, you may sit next to Phil.’

Eyes widening slightly, Dan followed Phil and sat next to him.

“Mr. Fiducia can speak telepathically to people,” Phil explained. “He’s really good at teaching you to control and develop your power. He’s the one who taught me to block out the voices. I trust him with my life.”

Dan turned back towards the professor and studied him. He looked perhaps in his mid thirties, with dark hazel eyes and wild red hair slicked back. He was also short, only a few inches taller than Zoe, but he had this sort of aura that showed power and authority.

‘The class starts with thirty minutes of meditation,’ The professor spoke to Dan through his mind once again without even looking at him.

The class was odd indeed. After meditating, which Dan had never done before, several of the class members spoke upon their progress. Speaking of class, there were only about ten of them in all.

“I’ve been able to keep an image present for almost half an hour,” PJ spoke proudly in front of the class. “It’s exhausting, but at least I can do it.”

‘Raise your hand if you would like to PJ to create an illusion on you,’ Professor Fiducia asked, seemingly to the whole class despite Dan only hearing it in his head. Pretty much the entire class raised their hands, and so Dan tentatively put his up as well.

A few seconds later, Dan experienced one of the most intriguing things so far in his life. No longer was he sitting in a classroom. His vision was filled with crystal clear bubbly water surrounded by bright red coral. Exotic fish swam every which way around him, all beautiful neon colors. Dan was completely entranced, which was why he was shocked (and disappointed) when it all disappeared and he was back in the long forgotten classroom.

“How long was that one Peej?” Phil spoke up questioningly from his seat.

“Fifteen minutes,” PJ grinned at him.

Woah, fifteen minutes? It had only seemed like a few seconds! Dan then realized how powerful PJ really was. Such visions were beautiful, but also terribly dangerous. One could get lost in them easily and forget all else that mattered.

‘Who else would like to demonstrate? Remember that we do have a new student we need to impress.’

“I’ll have a go,” Chris volunteered. “Can’t always allow Peej to show me up, even if I envy his power.”

Straight away the room was in utter chaos. And by the word chaos, it meant that hundreds of tiny paper clips erupted from inside the professor’s desk and started flying around in the air, flying in a straight line before suddenly separating and attacking some the students, namely PJ, but a few went after Louise, who squealed and started swatting at them.

‘That’s enough Chris,’ Fiducia ordered, but it was lighthearted. Chris backed down immediately, proudly taking his seat, but not before leading the paperclips back where they belonged.

By the time class ended, Dan really began to enjoy himself. He would have liked to demonstrate his own gift, but he still feared what people would think of him. On the way out, the professor informed him that they would have private lessons together every Wednesday and Thursday.

‘Your talent is nothing to be ashamed of Dan,’ Fiducia had told him gently. ‘I think you’ll find that at this school, people will think highly of you rather than treat you with hostility.’

It was true, Dan was beginning to trust these students more. After all, nobody seemed to treat Phil with distrust, despite him being able to read minds. Perhaps they had all been judged too, before they had come to this school.

“Phil?” Dan asked quietly later in the day as they once again sat together on the water fountain.

“Hmm?” Phil looked at him inquisitively.

“I was thinking that maybe….I don’t hate it here as much as I thought. I really like you guys. I never had many friends at my old school, and you’re all so nice…”

“Of course we are,” Phil smiled. “You’re special Dan, you must be if you were sent here. Even if you didn’t have a power I’d still like you.”

Dan blushed, but then looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. “I don’t think you’d see me as special if I told you what my power was…I’m afraid you’ll hate me.”

“Hate you?” Phil was taken aback. “Dan, I wouldn’t hate you, I can promise you that.”

“But you might fear me,” Dan said quietly. “And I don’t want that. Even my own parents…sometimes I think they fear me.”

“Tell me Dan.”

It wasn’t a demand exactly, but Phil was looking very concentrated at him.

“Please tell me. You don’t know how badly I want to peek and find out. I would never do that without permission though, so please tell me. I want to know everything about you. There’s just something special…something that draws me to you.”

Dan thought very hard for a moment. Maybe it would be better to tell. After all, Phil would likely find out eventually anyway, so if it went bad then at least he could get it over with.

“Phil…I don’t really know how to explain it without making myself sound horrible.”

“Just try,” Phil pleaded. “All you have to do is start talking. Tell me everything.”

Dan took a deep breath. “Ever since I was born, I could just…get what I wanted. I remember once when I was playing with some other children in the sandbox at the park, this boy was teasing me. I told him to ‘stop being mean and eat sand’….then he just went all weirdly quiet and started shoving handfuls of sand into his mouth. Mum had seen the whole thing and took me straight home.”

“It happened many other times. Without realizing it, I would just order people around and they would do it without question. My parents called it mind control, and told me how I had to stop doing it or else I would be taken away…so I was good. I learned to control it, to keep the control really deep inside. But then just a week ago I had a slip up. There were these bullies, and…well, the government finally discovered me after I taught them a lesson.”

Dan was getting emotional now. “I never wanted this power. I don’t want people to succumb at my very will. I don’t want them to fear me, or call me a freak. I just want friends…to be liked. Please Phil, please don’t hate me. I promise I would never use it on you, just like you don’t read my mind.”

He stopped talking them, out of breath and teary eyed. He didn’t dare look Phil in the face. There was a long silence and Dan knew that this was it. Phil would never look at him the same again, he would avoid him and advise all the other students to do the same thing…

Oh but how very wrong he was.

“Dan,” Phil whispered in awe. “That’s incredible. I sensed you were special, and I was so, so right…I could never hate you for something you can’t help. Besides, you should be proud of such a power.”

Dan looked up, not really believing what was happening. This was the first person he had ever willingly shared his power with, and he wasn’t getting hate. It was too good to be true.

“In fact,” Phil continued to speak. “I’d really like to kiss you, so I can show you how much I like you. Would you let me do that?”

Dan was still too shocked to speak, but Phil took that as an invitation and leaned forward, kissing him sweetly on the lips. It was quick but intimate, and when Phil pulled back he was smiling, and Dan felt his own mouth tug upwards.

As he smiled back at the other boy, Dan realized that perhaps this place would be even better than his own life. He didn’t have to hide anymore. He could be himself and still make friends. More importantly, he would be surrounded by other special people, like Phil.

Things would be okay now, he concluded to himself. It was the beginning of a new chapter in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> This will have one or two continuation stories focusing more on the future of Dan’s life at Nous Academy (with more action) if you’d like!


End file.
